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King Kong

King Kong

Adventure · Fantasy · Horror · 1976

An oil company expedition disturbs the peace of a giant ape and brings him back to New York to exploit him.

Movie details

King Kong

“The most exciting original motion picture event of all time.”

1976 Adventure · Fantasy · Horror 2h 14m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

An oil company expedition disturbs the peace of a giant ape and brings him back to New York to exploit him.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over King Kong?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

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When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

One Million Years B.C.

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As the Earth wrestles with its agonizing birth, the peoples of this barren and desolate world struggle to survive. Driven by animal instinct they compete against the harsh conditions, their giant predators, and warring tribes. When two people from opposing clans fall in love, existing conventions are shattered forever as each tribe struggles for supremacy and Man embarks on his tortuous voyage of civilization.

Underwater

Underwater

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After an earthquake destroys their underwater station, six researchers must navigate two miles along the dangerous, unknown depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety in a race against time.

King Kong

King Kong

Adventure · 1933

Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.

Dragonheart: Vengeance

Dragonheart: Vengeance

Fantasy · 2021

Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.

The Legend of Tarzan

The Legend of Tarzan

Fantasy · 2016

Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.

Kong: Skull Island

Kong: Skull Island

Action · 2017

Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.

The Legend of Ochi

The Legend of Ochi

Family · 2025

In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.

Mighty Joe Young

Mighty Joe Young

Adventure · 1998

As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.

James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach

Family · 1996

When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strange lands.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Guillermin

Written by

Lorenzo Semple Jr. · Ruth Rose · James Ashmore Creelman

Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges

Jack F. Prescott

Jessica Lange

Jessica Lange

Dwan

Charles Grodin

Charles Grodin

Fred S. Wilson

John Randolph

John Randolph

Captain Ross

René Auberjonois

René Auberjonois

Roy Bagley

Julius Harris

Julius Harris

Boan

Jack O'Halloran

Jack O'Halloran

Joe Perko

Court is in session

Put King Kong on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.